The BBC’s EU coverage has been far more often negative than it has positive over the past 15 years, the study found.
Photograph: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images

The BBC is more negative about the EU than it is about Russia’s Vladimir Putin or China’s Xi Jinping, according to a new analysis.

It also found that, over the past 15 years, the corporation’s EU coverage has been far more often negative than it has positive.

At a presentation given in Brussels on Thursday, Zurich-based analysts Media Tenor argued that British TV, in particular the BBC, has failed to present a balanced view of the EU or enough coverage of how it affects the UK.

The study is based on researchers watching reports and assessing whether they were overall positive or negative. Both the subject of each report, such as whether the EU was leading to higher or lower unemployment, and the language used, were taken into account.

Tenor’s analysis shows that on average over the past 15 years a third of BBC coverage of the EU has been negative, while only about 7% was positive. The study found there were more negative reports about Europe on BBC 10pm bulletins in each of the past 15 years except 2004, when there were an equal number of reports casting the EU in positive and negative lights.

The study also compared BBC coverage of the EU over the course of 2015 with its treatment of world leaders considered “strong men”. It found that last year approximately 45% of coverage of the EU was negative, the same proportion of negative coverage given to Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, and far more than the 30% negative coverage received by Putin and 7% received by China’s Xi Jinping. Both Jinping and Assad received more positive coverage than the EU.

The study’s findings run counter to claims from many supporters of the Leave campaign that the BBC is pro-EU. However, it may worry politicians concerned that broadcasters are not providing a balanced debate.

Tenor’s presentation said the media’s portrayal of the EU over the long term is likely to have serious consequences for those campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU, suggesting that “reporting about the advantages of EU membership come too late and will not convince a public that has been accustomed to EU bashing”. The study found that coverage of the EU referendum itself was the most balanced, but reports about issues such as migration, security and economic policy were heavily skewed.

The study also singled out Newsnight’s broadcasts during the beginning of 2016, saying that that while the BBC2 show gave higher priority to stories about the EU, its coverage was more polarised and, like other programmes, more negative.

The study also looked at coverage of the EU in the Financial Times, finding that while the bulk of reports were neutral, there were more negative reports than positive ones.

A BBC spokesperson said: “It’s just not possible to measure impartiality through some sort of mathematical formula. BBC News reports on the EU fairly and impartially and we’re satisfied our coverage achieves a proper balance.”